Cooking on a range, also known as a stove-top, is a commonly performed task for many households and commercial eateries. It is therefore no surprise that cleaning up after the cooking is done is also commonly performed. The chore of cleaning the range can often be an arduous task. Many inventions have tried to make this chore easier by providing a means for protecting the range surfaces from spills, splatters, splashes, crumbs, drips, drops, and everything in between. However, these inventions fail to solve the problem on a number of fronts discussed more below.
U.S. Pat. No. 727,251 (publication U.S. Pat. No. 72,7251 A), entitled Stove-mat, describes a range cover that is designed to be a heat insulator for the purpose of covering the unused sections of a range surface. That prior art claimed to protect the surface of the range and featured lids for the unused cooking surfaces. Many other narrowing limitations were built into the patent owing to the fact that in the year 1903, oven design was significantly different from that seen today (for example, the patent is built to cover “stove-lids” not seen in typical modern cooking surface appliances).
In 1970, patent publication number U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,123 A, entitled Protective aluminum foil cover for stoves, described a basic product comprised of an aluminum sheet with perforations. This aluminum sheet could be torn from a roll and then placed over a range. Then the sections overlapping the range burners could be removed. This provided yet another means of protection suffering from three significant shortcomings. First, foil can't easily be applied to a surface without creating wrinkles which are aesthetically unappealing to many. Second, this invention generates significant amounts of waste in the form of discarded aluminum. Third, the invention is difficult to apply or use without accidentally tearing or puncturing due to the mechanical properties of thin rolled aluminum sheets.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 05/634,280, publication number U.S. Pat. No. 4,045,606 A, entitled Protective cover for an electric range, describes a range cover that is essentially a large piece of foil with a heat indicator strip and edge grooves to retain liquids. This patent suffers from many of the same draw-backs as the previous prior art.
Patent publication number U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,068 A, entitled Cooktop cover apparatus, describes a range cover to be used only when the burners or heating surfaces are not being used. This is typical of much of the prior art, but is highly contrary to solving the problem of protecting the surface of the range since the cover must be removed while the cooking surface is in use, during which messes are more likely to occur.
Patent publication number U.S. Pat. No. 5,331,945 A, entitled Combination stove top cover and cutting board for recreational vehicles, describes yet another cover for the range to be used only when the burners and cooking surfaces are not being used. This particular invention featured one large cover which suffers from the problem of being bulky. Such a large single cover is unlikely to fit into a sink or dishwasher for convenient cleaning.
Patent publication number U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,781 A, entitled Cook top protector, describes a range cover that has removable panels that expose the cooking surfaces when each will be used. This art also describes the cover as having “flexible fingers” that extend down into the area beneath the burners. The prior art describes the use of long slits in the main cover panel which form the individual fingers. This would be undesirable because liquids could easily run beneath the cover through those slits. Another unique element of this prior art is the description of an optional front facing “skirt” with pockets for easy holding of utensils. This doesn't seem practical for typical oven-range combos which have an oven door located at the front.
Patent publication number U.S. Pat. No. 6,044,834 A, entitled Stove top protective cover, describes a range cover that has multiple concentric perforations for removing circular sections from the main body to allow a cooking surface to pass through. These perforations attempt to give the user the ability to adjust the invention to fit the user's range. However, the unused perforations act as collection sources for liquids to penetrate the protection of the range cover, thereby defeating the principal objective. This prior art contemplates use of flexible fire resistant materials for construction. Another unique element is the inclusion of a “resiliently deformable backing” to the flexible cover. The art describes pushing the cover down into any recesses or depressions in the cooking surface. These measures do allow for some adjustment to the user's range, but the dimensions that are most likely to be different from one particular range model to another are the spacing and relative position of the heating elements. This particular prior art does nothing to address that.
Patent publication number U.S. Pat. No. 6,263,869 B1, entitled Stove cover device, describes a range cover that has an outer frame supporting a removable cover. That is yet another cover not intended or able to be used during cooking. The goal of that prior art is to increase usable counter space rather than to protect the range while it is in use.
Patent publication number U.S. Pat. No. 6,399,924 B1, entitled Cooktop hygiene device and method, describes a range cover that has hinged flaps that are designed to cover the heating elements but which can also allow the transmission of heat so as to be used while the heating element or cooking surface is hot. This prior art discloses the use of a pleated section which allows the cover to stretch or compress to fit different cooking surface spacing configurations. It also describes the use of overlapping flaps to create a seam that can form a seal for different spacing configurations of the cooking surfaces. While this art improved over the previous prior art in the realm of providing for adjustment, it features obstructive hinged flaps. These hinges would be difficult to clean and the flaps are cumbersome to the use of the range. This prior art also discusses an embodiment where the cover is comprised of “basin” or “drip pans” connected to the range cover (“plate like structure”) and positioned beneath the heating elements of the range. On the surface it makes sense to have the basins be directly connected to the cover to form a barrier with fewer seams and joints. However, the present inventor believes this is actually an undesirable feature since having basins connected to the range cover would result in a much more difficult application and removal of the product. Furthermore, there is no option to use one apart from the other should the user choose to do so. This aspect also requires the replacement of the whole cover panel in the event that any part of it becomes damaged or unusable.
Patent publication number U.S. Pat. No. 8,353,282 B1, entitled Disposable stove top cover, describes a disposable range cover that has a porous top layer, an absorbent middle layer, and an impermeable bottom layer. This prior art is diametrically opposed to the present invention which seeks to be re-usable to eliminate waste. In the event that one area of the prior art's disposable cover is soiled, the entirety must be replaced; the present invention could easily be wiped or washed and quickly re-applied to the range.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/900,019, publication number US20090064990 A1, entitled Range roll pliable, heat-resistant silicone stovetop cover for smooth cooktop stoves and ranges, describes the basic invention of a range cover. This application does not disclose the use of holes for the burners or heating elements to pass through. In fact, the application touts the fact that it covers burners as a valuable feature to prevent burns from accidental contact. It does disclose the use of silicone and optional graphics on the cover. It is an important goal of the present invention to allow the cover to be used while the user is cooking on the range without worry of burning or melting the cover.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/571,489, publication number US20100083948 A1, entitled Protective liner and system for protecting a cooking top, describes a disposable range cover that is applied in a stack and can have the outermost layer peeled off to reveal another clean cover sheet. The bottom surface of the cover features an adhesive coating to allow it to be secured to the range surface. It is also disclosed that a magnetic portion could be used to achieve the securing of the cover to the range. Another aspect disclosed in this prior art is the use of centering pins and corresponding holes to align the cover to the range. It is the goal of the present invention to eliminate the need for centering pins or multiple disposable sheets by providing a range cover that is cleanable and durable for reuse.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/835,850, publication number US20120012093 A1, entitled Graphic cooktop cover, describes a glass top range cover that features a removable graphic cover with openings for the heating elements. This prior art narrowly focuses on glass top ranges.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/200,792, publication number US20130081608 A1, entitled Stove top shield, describes a range cover that again is only to be used while the heating elements are not in use. This prior art also describes the separation of the cover into discreet sections designed to cover one heating element at a time with seams in between the sections.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/667,846, publication number US20150323198, entitled Stovetop Guard, describes a range cover featuring reversibly detachable heating element cut outs. First the cut outs can be detached from the main range cover section. Then, the cut outs can be reattached by multiple methods including zipper, Velcro (hook and loop), and magnets to name a few. Again these cut outs must be removed prior to turning on the heating section of the range. No basin protection is included in this particular prior art.